Abq. man to receive lifetime achievement award

Architect, woodcarver believes important aspects of his religious art are messages works communicate

To Carlos José Otero, art is so much more than beautiful brushstrokes and intricate carvings. It’s culture and history — it’s the human story.

Recognized for his dedication to preserving traditional Spanish art forms, Otero is receiving this year’s Masters Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Spanish Colonial Arts Society.

For more than 20 years, the multifaceted santero, a native of Los Lunas, has created artworks that integrate his passion for genealogy and connections throughout humanity.

Prerequisites for the award

include participation in the Traditional Spanish Market for more than 20 years, Hispanic ethnicity and a history of teaching and promoting traditions.

Otero said his family roots in New Mexico date back 13 generations. “We’re all cousins. We’re all primos.”

His effort to lead the next generation and his lifetime dedication to mentoring and teaching — he’s a retired schoolteacher — are other reasons why Otero believes he won the award.

“It’s not just the art itself — it’s my involvement in the community,” he said.

The 70-year-old Albuquerquebased poet, architect, musician and woodcarver believes the most important aspects of his religious art are the messages the works communicate.

“When we’re looking at these images, they transcend the visual,” he said. “It’s more about the work we’re doing, the people from our past, the many generations … Christianity and beyond.”

Otero — who said he’s completely self-taught — specializes in three art forms: bulto carvings, relief carvings and retablo paintings. Through these forms, he depicts notable theological saints and heavenly figures, including St. Francis and St. Anthony, and Mary and Jesus.

Otero estimated that there are about 300 artists within the Spanish Colonial market and a lot of overlap within the genre, but he believes his use of natural elements is what sets his work apart.

“I hear from people that my work is very ‘earthy,’ ” he said, adding that he makes his own pigments from piñon sap, chamisa and ashes, in addition to creating gesso from gypsum and rabbit hide glues. Experimenting with colors in this way allows him to “leave some of the elements” in his paints, adding texture and substance.

“When you grind it yourself, it’s not as fine as when you buy pigments in the store,” he said.

He also uses cottonwood — rather than juniper or cedar — to be “aesthetically correct,” since it was traditionally used in Central New Mexico in the mid-1700s.

Throughout his life, the artist has given countless presentations and performances related to local history and tradition. He lights up about biblical stories and tales of conquistadors, and participates in the music ministry at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Peralta, where his 14-foot reredo, or altar screen, is on display.

He is also an award-winning poet and musical composer.

Though he uses some techniques and materials that date back more than 1,000 years, he believes the art will always be relevant — and his main goal is to ensure that it does.

“Part of being a Spanish Colonial artist is sharing the techniques and the history of these things we’ve done through the ages,” Otero said. “I have a passion, not just for the arts, but for the culture. …

“Here in New Mexico we had a Golden Age of Santero art,” Otero said. “This is what we hope to revive.”